In 2024, as in previous years, the State Agency of Medicines of Latvia (SAMLV) has remained steadfast in its mission: to ensure the availability of safe, effective, and high-quality medicines and medical devices for the public, while making decisions grounded in science, evidence, and public health interests. This mission continues to guide the Agency’s activities both nationally and at the European level, where SAMLV actively represents Latvia in working groups and committees of the European Medicines Agency.
One of the key achievements in 2024 was a notable increase in public engagement in the monitoring of medicines safety. A public awareness campaign led by SAMLV contributed to a more than 30% rise in reports of suspected adverse drug reactions, making the process of reporting easier, more accessible, and better understood by the public.
To improve customer experience, several initiatives were launched over the past year to streamline the authorisation processes. Significant progress was made in enhancing the Customer Self-Service Portal, offering more convenient digital tools. Development of the portal will continue into 2025.
“2024 was a year of dynamic growth and transformation for SAMLV. We strengthened our core functions while establishing ourselves as a trusted, professional, and internationally recognised health sector regulator. Our work was focused on ensuring access to safe, high-quality medicines, promoting digital development, improving customer experience, and actively involving the public in pharmacovigilance,” said Indra Dreika, Director of the State Agency of Medicines of Latvia.
Key 2024 highlights:
- 528 medicines were authorized or renewed;
- Over 9,000 distribution authorizations for medicinal products were issued;
- 37 authorizations for clinical trials of medicinal products in Latvia were granted; a total of 173 clinical trials took place;
- 434 reports of suspected adverse drug reactions were received;
- 57 medicinal product samples and 280 quality parameters were tested in the SAMLV Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Expertise;
- Post-market surveillance was conducted on 878 medical devices distributed in Latvia;
- 805 pharmacy licenses, 81 wholesale licenses, 32 manufacturing or import licenses, and 24 licenses for active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) manufacturers were issued or renewed;
- 15 Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) inspections were carried out at pharmaceutical manufacturing sites and contract laboratories, along with 25 Good Distribution Practice (GDP) inspections at wholesale companies.
This public overview and previous reports are available on the SAMLV website under the “About US” section.
Note: This annual report has been translated from Latvian into English using machine translation. In case of discrepancies, please refer to the Latvian version of the report, which is available here.
